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Taken from New Haven Register (Aug 08, 2016)
WimBash to raise funds for West Haven music education
by Mark Zaretsky, New Haven Register
WEST HAVEN:: For the second year, the WimBash Beach Festival - sparked by Living Colour bassist Doug Wimbish with help from Nova Sound Studios, the city and locals John McCarthy and "Johnny Z" Ziada - will bring big-name rock-and-rollers to the West Haven shore Saturday.
While admission to the festival at Old Grove Park is free, the goal is to raise money to support music education in West Haven and help kids become musicians, Wimbish said Monday.
"It's the cause - it's what it's all about," along with giving young talent a spot onstage alongside established rockers, said Wimbish, a native of Hartford. "I'm glad to be able to do this again. Last year we were blessed to raise $7,000 to support music education at West Haven High School."
The support the festival lends includes "supporting young guys" at the festival itself, he said. "Just being on the same stage is always good. It's inspiring for us all. For me that's what WimBash has always been about."
This year's WimBash is sponsored by Yale University and will feature the musical chops of Mark Rivera's '67 Chevy, "a tribute to the kings of rock 'n' soul music." Rivera is Billy Joel's longtime saxophonist, Wimbish said.
The all-ages, family-friendly event will take place rain or shine from 1:30-10 p.m. in Old Grove Park, off Oak Street near Captain Thomas Boulevard. It also is sponsored by Mayor Edward M. O'Brien and the city, along with McCarthy's The Rock House School of Music and Ziada's Z's Corner Cafe.
Rivera's all-star band will include Wimbish and Living Colour frontman Corey Glover with Average White Band drummer Rocky Bryant, guitarist-producer Marc Ribler, Cliff Carter on keyboards and guitarist Kyle Ward, who is a junior at the Berklee College of Music.
Also appearing will be Brooklyn, New York, teen metal stars Unlocking the Truth, Abby and the Roadsters, Chemical Z, Tears Fall Down with the E.S. Choral Group, Pop Rocks, Fools Faith, Peter Lucibelli, James Mauri 4 and DJ Markie Gee.
The event will feature two stages and a DJ, as well as a tented beer garden and an array of locally-owned food and dessert trucks along Palace Street. WimBash T-shirts will be sold, and there will be raffles and giveaways, organizers said in a press release.
The WimBash Music Festival Series, a charity founded by Wimbish that includes the festival and related fundraising events, has collected $10,000 to date for the West Haven school district's music program.
The first WimBash Beach Festival last August raised $7,000. The donated proceeds paid for new instruments at Carrigan Intermediate School. This year's festival will once again support the school music program, along with a music program at the West Haven Community House, organizers said.
A previous, smaller WimBash took place in February 2015 at Z's.
Wimbish organized the very first WimBash at Sully's Pub in Hartford in 2004 as a welcome home and birthday party for Wimbish's close friend and fellow Sugar Hill Rhythm Section bandmate Skip McDonald.
The name, "WimBash" came one year later. Over the years, WimBash has become an annual event at various destinations.
Since 2011, The WimBash Music Festival Series has combined forces with The DREAM Project to connect global talent with aspiring musicians and raise funds for youth education programs.
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